Exhibition marks 60 years since A Hard Day's Night

An exhibition marking 60 years since the Beatles' ground-breaking film A Hard Day's Night has launched in Liverpool.

It will showcase memorabilia from the 1964 film, including recreations of the iconic suits the Fab Four wore in the black and white movie.

The suits have been remade by Gordon Millings, the son of the original designer Dougie Millings.

The exhibition is at the Beatles Story Museum at the Albert Dock.

Gordon Millings, whose father was nicknamed The Beatles' Tailor, said: "Reviving the silver-grey suits from A Hard Day’s Night has allowed me to honour my father’s legacy and the lasting influence of The Beatles.

"By using my father’s original patterns and fabric from the same Savile Row supplier, as well as the original techniques used by my father and I in 1964, we’ve recreated the suits with great attention to detail.

"This collection of suits is a bridge between past and present, and I cannot wait for fans to see them."

The film, which was accompanied by an album of the same name, was described by one critic as "a timewarp memento of that brief 1963-4 phase in their history known as Beatlemania".

It was directed by Richard Lester, who later went on to direct Superman II and Superman III.

The band play themselves preparing for a television special in London while dodging throngs of teenage fans and trying to keep an eye on Paul McCartney's fictional grandfather - played by Steptoe And Son actor Wilfred Brambell.

Mary Chadwick, General Manager of The Beatles Story, added: "Sixty years on, A Hard Day’s Night still captures that special Beatles magic and the wild excitement of the Beatlemania era.

"We’re really excited to unveil this special exhibition, where fans can relive the film’s essence and see original memorabilia and meticulously recreated costumes first-hand."

A charity showing of the film will raise funds for Strawberry Fields, the charity for young people with learning disabilities that is based in the former children's home immortalised by John Lennon in his song Strawberry Fields Forever.

Listen to the best of BBC Radio Merseyside on Sounds and follow BBC Merseyside on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas to [email protected]